City comparison
Cost of living in Istanbul vs Sofia
One person needs about €963 a month in Istanbul and €1,050 in Sofia, rent included — Istanbul is 9% cheaper overall.
Salary you'd need to keep the same lifestyle
Enter your current net monthly pay. We scale it by the full cost basket — rent, groceries, transport, utilities, eating out and internet.
To live in Sofia the way you live in Istanbul on €3,000, you need
€3,271/ month net
9% more than today (+€271)
- Istanbul today
- Basket €963 · left over €2,037 (68%)
- Sofia at the matched salary
- Basket €1,050 · left over €2,221 (68%)
Local pay context: average tech net pay covers the basket 210% over in Sofia (strong) vs 166% in Istanbul. Purchasing power index · How we calculate this
🇹🇷 Istanbul
Enormous, cheap in euro terms, but inflation reprices everything every few months.
Monthly budget: €963
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
🇧🇬 Sofia
Flat 10% income tax, mountains at the tram terminus, and very low fixed costs.
Monthly budget: €1,050
Sources: Eurostat, Harmonised price indices (2025) · 0 community reports
Should you move to Istanbul or Sofia?
On salary, Sofia pays more for tech roles (€2,200 versus €1,600 a month), so the money left over after costs is €1,150 in Sofia at the top end.
Rent drives most of the gap: €550 in Istanbul against €600 in Sofia. Groceries, transport and utilities move far less between the two.
For remote workers, the nomad index scores Istanbul at 70 and Sofia at 76 — see the full nomad index and our data methodology.